Apparatus for attaching an accessory to a handgun

ABSTRACT

There is provided a flashlight attachment bracket useful for securing a flashlight or other similar device to a handgun. A resilient, grip-encircling arrangement is slid onto the handgun&#39;s grip from the front and secured against vertical movement (i.e., sliding off the bottom of the grip) by an opening adapted to receive a projection from the stock of the handgun. A flashlight-encircling bracket at the bottom of the support bracket slideably secures a flashlight so that the flashlight&#39;s front-to-back position may be adjusted for optimal balance and then the flashlight may be locked in place. No bracket components are permanently secured to the handgun; the mounting system allows the weapon to be holstered and quickly withdrawn without the flashlight in place.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention pertains to attaching accessories to handguns and, more particularly, to removably attaching a flashlight, laser pointer or the like to a handgun.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The advantages of providing a light source easily attached to a handgun are well known. Attached lights have proven useful in nighttime and in other low-light situations.

Most law enforcement officials as well as others attempting to obtain accuracy when firing a handgun are taught to fire using a two-hand grip. Such a grip reduces recoil and has been found to provide greater accuracy when multiple shots must be fired. The two-hand grip works well when a suspect or other target is well illuminated. However, in low light situations, the two-handed grip may not be possible. Obviously, it is not possible if a flashlight must be held in one hand and the handgun in the other.

Police officers, security guards, and other such individuals are generally required to carry a light in performing their duties. However, with a detached light source, extraordinary coordination is needed between two hands, one unholstering, aiming, and possibly firing the handgun, while the other hand detaching or otherwise moving a flashlight or the like into an operational position and aiming the light at the target.

Several attempts have been made in the prior art to attach a flashlight or the like to a handgun so that the light and the handgun move as one, thereby overcoming the aforementioned disadvantageous situation.

U.S. Pat. No. 3,106,348 for FLASHLIGHT MOUNTING BRACKET, issued Oct. 8, 1963 to Brian Robinson provides one such solution. ROBINSON provides a bracket which is permanently attached to the handle of the firearm by screws or other suitable fasteners. The ROBINSON bracket is designed to slideably accept a companion bracket component which is permanently attached to a flashlight. The arrangement has at least three major disadvantages. First, bracket components are permanently attached to both the handgun and the flashlight. This can result in injury to the user or to someone in close proximity thereto. In addition, the possibility of a bracket protruding from the firearm catching as the handgun is withdrawn from a holster may critically slow the withdrawal, aiming and firing of the handgun when the flashlight is not attached. Third, in the ROBINSON arrangement, the flashlight is supported solely from a rear surface thereof and cantilevered forward, thereby unbalancing the handgun, possibly leading to awkward or inaccurate firing. The ROBINSON mounting arrangement probably precludes use of modern, powerful, long flashlights because of their excessive and unbalanced weight relative to a center of gravity of the handgun without the flashlight attached.

U.S. Pat. No. 2,450,584 issued Oct. 5, 1948 to L. H. Dodge teaches a mounting system which, although patented earlier, overcomes some of the deficiencies of the ROBINSON arrangement. DODGE suspends a flashlight using a two point suspension. A flashlight is cradled in a bracket attached both at the bottom of the handgun handle and from the handgun's trigger guard. While this arrangement provides better overall balance than does the ROBINSON mounting, the DODGE solution is still far from ideal. First, a user must slide his or her hand sideways into the space between the handgun and the attachment bracket, thereby making quick withdrawal of the handgun from its holster awkward at best. In addition, protrusion of bracket mounting hardware inside the trigger guard may also interfere with actually firing the handgun.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,167,446 for FLASHLIGHT HANDGUN GRIP ASSEMBLY, issued Dec. 1, 1992 to Vahe Harotunian teaches yet another flashlight mounting arrangement. HAROTUNIAN teaches an encircling bracket for supporting the flashlight and having a radially projecting, padded support which a user presses against the front of the handgun handle to secure the flashlight to the handgun. The major disadvantage of this arrangement is primarily that the shooter must spend considerable time getting the flashlight into an operational position before the flashlight may be used to illuminate a target such as a suspect.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,560,703 for HANDGUN LIGHT MOUNT, issued Oct. 1, 1996 to Lewis W. Capps, III teaches an arrangement whereby a flashlight may be supported on a handgun by a bracket partially encircling the grip portion of the handgun handle. The bracket is retained on the handgun handle solely by friction and, with a heavy flashlight supported thereby, the flashlight and its supporting bracket may possibly slide off the bottom of the handgun grip.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,628,555 for SWITCH ACTUATION MECHANISM FOR A FIREARM-MOUNTED FLASHLIGHT, issued May 13, 1997 to Raymond L. Sharrah features a light-retaining bracket permanently secured to the bottom of a handgun's grip and with a lever projecting upwardly therefrom useful for activating the flashlight. While the SHARRAH arrangement provides ease of turning the flashlight on or off, the aforementioned disadvantages of a permanently attached bracket are also present.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,816,683 for FLASHLIGHT ADAPTER FOR A HANDGUN, issued Oct. 6, 1998 to Ned F. Christianson teaches yet another solution for attaching a flashlight to the bottom of a handgun's grip. Again, a bracket permanently attached to the handgun has the disadvantages discussed hereinabove.

What is needed is a flashlight mounting system that uses a resilient, frictionally retained, grip encircling bracket to releasably suspend a flashlight from the grip of a handgun. The mounting arrangement should clip onto the handgun stock from the front, and a securing means should be included to overcome the tendency of the bracket to slide off the bracket from the weight of the flashlight.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a flashlight attachment bracket useful for securing a flashlight or other similar device to a handgun. A resilient, grip-encircling arrangement is slid onto the handgun's grip from the front and secured against vertical movement (i.e., sliding off the bottom of the grip) by an opening adapted to receive a projection from the handgun. A flashlight-encircling novel support bracket slideably secures a flashlight so that the flashlight's front-to-back position may be adjusted for optimal balance and then the flashlight may be locked in place. No bracket components are permanently secured to the handgun; the inventive mounting system allows the weapon to be holstered and quickly withdrawn, without the flashlight attached thereto.

It is, therefore, an object of the invention to provide a bracket for removably attaching a flashlight to a handgun.

It is another object of the invention to provide a flashlight mounting system wherein no bracket or other mounting components are permanently affixed to the handgun.

It is an additional object of the invention to provide a flashlight mounting arrangement wherein the flashlight may be adjusted for optimal balance with the handgun.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a flashlight mounting arrangement wherein the handgun may be normally deposited in and withdrawn from a holster and then inserted into the bracket/flashlight assembly for use therewith.

It is yet another object of the invention to provide a flashlight mounting arrangement that provides little or no interference with a shooter's ability to draw, aim, and fire the handgun.

It is a still further object of the invention to provide a flashlight mounting arrangement having no portion extending inside a trigger guard of the handgun.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A complete understanding of the present invention may be obtained by reference to the accompanying drawings, when considered in conjunction with the subsequent detailed description, in which:

FIG. 1 is a bottom, front, perspective view of the flashlight mounting bracket of the invention in its intended operating environment attached to a handgun;

FIG. 2 is a side, elevational view of the arrangement of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a bottom, perspective view of the flashlight mounting bracket of the invention with a flashlight in place; and

FIG. 4 is an exploded view of the flashlight mounting bracket of the invention attached to a flashlight and poised for attachment to a handgun.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The present invention features a novel attachment system for removably securing a flashlight or similar accessory to a handgun.

Referring to FIGS. 1, 2, 3, and 4, there are shown perspective, side elevational, bottom perspective, and exploded views, respectively of the flashlight mounting bracket 102 holding a flashlight 104 and a handgun 106, generally at reference number 100. Neither flashlight 104 nor handgun 106 form any part of the present invention. In addition, flashlight 104 is representative of any handgun accessory including, but not limited to laser devices, infrared sources, radar, sonar or other electronic apparatus, which may be suspended from the lower portion of the stock or grip 105 of the handgun 106. Consequently, the inventive attachment is not limited to attaching the flashlight 104 chosen for purposes of disclosure.

A padded clamp 108 is attached to an elongated body 110 of flashlight mounting bracket 102. Padded clamp 108 encircles flashlight 104 thereby retaining it in appropriate alignment with handgun 106 so that light, not shown, projecting from the forward face 116 of flashlight 104 is properly directed towards the target, not shown, at which handgun 106 is aimed.

A rear portion 112 of padded clamp 108 is adapted to tighten padded clamp 108 around flashlight 104 using a screw 114. Screw 114 may be a machine bolt mating with an appropriate nut, not shown, or terminating in a threaded portion of the far side of rear portion 112 of padded clamp 108. It will be recognized that other tightening arrangements may be used to secure flashlight 104 in padded clamp 108 and the exact tightening method chosen to tighten padded clamp 108 around flashlight 104 forms no part on the present invention which encompasses any suitable tightening devices and/or methods in addition to the screw 114 arrangement chosen for purposes of disclosure.

The elongated body 110 has a finger 118 adapted to rest against a trigger guard 120 of handgun 106. Elongated body 110 is open along a first side 128 so as to receive the stock 105 of handgun 106. As may best be seen in FIG. 4, handgun 106 snaps into open side 128 of elongated body 110 of flashlight mounting bracket 102 in a direction indicated by arrow 122 until a bottom surface 124 of the stock or grip 105 of handgun 106 rests against surface 126 of padded clamp 108. When properly inserted into elongated body 110, finger 118 rests against trigger guard 120 of handgun 106. An opening 130 in a side of elongated body 110 opposite open side 128 is provided to receive a projection 132 of the stock 105 of handgun 106.

When stock 105 of handgun 106 is snapped into hollow elongated body 110 of flashlight mounting bracket 102, the stock 105 is both aligned and secured against motion. First, bottom surface 124 of stock 105 abuts surface 126 of clamp 108. The abutment of finger 118 against trigger guard 120 further prevents movement. Finally, projection 132 retained in opening 130 prevents the weight of flashlight 104 retained in padded clamp 108 from pulling hollow body 110 off stock 105.

Elongated body 110 is preferably made from a resilient polymer such as high impact plastic or metal. It will be recognized that any other suitable material may be used to form elongated body 110. Elongated body 110 has a textured outer surface, not shown, to facilitate a shooter, not shown, in drawing, aiming, and/or shooting handgun 106 when elongated body 110 surrounds stock 105 of handgun 106.

Since other modifications and changes varied to fit particular operating requirements and environments will be apparent to those skilled in the art, the invention is not considered limited to the example chosen for purposes of disclosure, and covers all changes and modifications which do not constitute departures from the true spirit and scope of this invention.

Having thus described the invention, what is desired to be protected by Letters Patent is presented in the subsequently appended claims. 

1. A bracket for removably attaching an accessory to a stock of a handgun, comprising: a) a resilient, elongated, hollow body, open on a first side and a proximal end thereof, and adapted to receive the stock of a handgun therein, said elongated hollow body having a finger outwardly projecting from an outer surface of a second, opposing side of said hollow body, proximate said proximal end thereof, and an opening disposed in said second, opposing side of said hollow body proximate the distal end thereof to receive a projection of said handgun stock; b) means for releasably securing an accessory affixed to said distal end of said resilient, elongated, hollow body; whereby when said stock of said handgun is inserted into said hollow body along said first, open side, and said finger is abutted against a trigger guard of said handgun, and said protection of said stock is inserted into said opening, said stock is frictionally retained in said hollow body and motion in a direction substantially parallel to the major axis of said stock is prevented by said projection in said opening.
 2. The bracket for removably attaching an accessory to a stock of a handgun as recited in claim 2, wherein said means for releasably securing an accessory comprises a clamp adapted to receive and retain said accessory.
 3. The bracket for removably attaching an accessory to a stock of a handgun as recited in claim 2, wherein said clamp further comprises means for tightening disposed in axial alignment therewith and adapted to slidably secure said accessory in said clamp.
 4. The bracket for removably attaching an accessory to a stock of a handgun as recited in claim 3, wherein said accessory has a circular cross section.
 5. The bracket for removably attaching an accessory to a stock of a handgun as recited in claim 1, wherein said accessory comprises at least one of the group: flashlight, laser pointer, and other handgun accessory.
 6. The bracket for removably attaching an accessory to a stock of a handgun as recited in claim 2, said clamp further comprising a substantially flat surface adjacent said distal end of said hollow body to abut a bottom surface of said stock when said stock is retained in said hollow body.
 7. The bracket for removably attaching an accessory to a stock of a handgun as recited in claim 6, wherein said accessory has a circular cross section.
 8. The bracket for removably attaching an accessory to a stock of a handgun as recited in claim 6, wherein said accessory comprises at least one of the group: flashlight, laser pointer, and other handgun accessory.
 9. The bracket for removably attaching an accessory to a stock of a handgun as recited in claim 6, wherein said elongated body comprises one of the group: high impact plastic, and metal.
 10. The bracket for removably attaching an accessory to a stock of a handgun as recited in claim 6, wherein at least an outer portion of said elongated body comprises a textured surface.
 11. A method of attaching a cylindrical accessory to the stock of a handgun, the steps comprising: a) providing a bracket adapted to at least partially encircle a stock of a handgun, said bracket being open along a rear facing vertical surface so as to slidably receive said stock of said handgun, said bracket comprising an opening adapted and configured to receive a projection proximate a bottom surface of said handgun, said bracket comprising means for clamping and aligning said cylindrical accessory; b) sliding said stock of said handgun into said bracket along said open, rear facing, vertical surface; and c) using said handgun with said cylindrical accessory attached thereto.
 12. The method for attaching a cylindrical accessory to the stock of a handgun as recited in claim 11, wherein said opening and said projection interact to prevent motion of said bracket in a vertical direction along an axis substantially perpendicular to a barrel of said handgun, whereby said bracket is retained in position on said stock of said handgun.
 13. The method for attaching a cylindrical accessory to the stock of a handgun as recited in claim 11, wherein said cylindrical accessory comprises a flashlight.
 14. A bracket for removably attaching an accessory to a stock of a handgun, comprising: a) a resilient, elongated, hollow body, open on a first side and a proximal end thereof, and adapted to receive the stock of a handgun therein, said elongated hollow body having a finger outwardly projecting from an outer surface of a second, opposing side of said hollow body, proximate said proximal end thereof, and an opening disposed in said second, opposing side of said hollow body proximate the distal end thereof to receive a projection of said handgun stock; b) a clamp for releasably securing an accessory having a circular cross-section affixed to said distal end of said resilient, elongated, hollow body, said clamp comprising means for tightening disposed in axial alignment therewith and adapted to slidably secure said accessory in said clamp, said clamp further comprising a substantially flat surface adjacent said distal end of said hollow body to abut a bottom surface of said stock when said stock is retained in said hollow body; whereby when said stock of said handgun is inserted into said hollow body along said first, open side, and said finger is abutted against a trigger guard of said handgun, and said protection of said stock is inserted into said opening, said stock is frictionally retained in said hollow body and motion is prevented in a direction substantially parallel to the major axis of said stock.
 15. The bracket for removably attaching an accessory to a stock of a handgun as recited in claim 14, wherein said accessory comprises at least one of the group: flashlight, laser pointer, and other handgun accessory.
 16. The bracket for removably attaching an accessory to a stock of a handgun as recited in claim 14, wherein said elongated body comprises at least one polymer one of the group: high impact plastic, and metal.
 17. The bracket for removably attaching an accessory to a stock of a handgun as recited in claim 14, wherein at least an outer portion of said elongated body comprises a textured surface. 